The
king, queen, generals, and all the riches, were carried to Rome, where
the conqueror came in to enjoy what was called a triumph. He was seated
in a chariot drawn by white horses, a laurel wreath round his head, and
all his captives and spoils displayed behind him; the senate or council
coming out to meet him, and the people shouting for joy as they led him
to the Temple of Jupiter to give thanks. The captives were afterwards
slain; and, as a farther festival, the people were entertained with
shows of gladiators, namely, slaves trained to fight, even to death,
with each other or with wild beasts. Then the conquered land became a
Roman province. After the magistrates had served a year at Rome, they
were allowed to choose which province they would govern; and there they
did as they pleased, and laid heavy burthens on the poor inhabitants,
for all men, not of Roman birth, they called barbarian, and used like
slaves; nor was there any hope of breaking this heavy bondage, for each
city was a station of Roman soldiers, who were the bravest and best
disciplined in the world. The army was divided into legions, each about
6,000 men strong, with a silver eagle for the standard; these were again
subdivided into cohorts, and again into hundreds, each commanded by a
centurion, whose helmet had some mark by which his men might know him.
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